St. Nicholas Volume XIII

One hundred and nine years ago, in the month of February, 1777, a young
French guardsman ran away to sea.

And a most singular running away it was. He did not wish to be a sailor,
but he was so anxious to go that he bought a ship to run away in,--for he
was a very wealthy young man; and though he was only nineteen, he held a
commission as major-general in the armies of a land three thousand miles
away--a land he had never seen and the language of which he could not
speak. The King of France commanded him to remain at home; his friends and
relatives tried to restrain him; and even the representatives, or agents,
of the country in defense of which he desired to fight would not encourage
his purpose. And when the young man, while dining at the house of the
British Ambassador to France, openly avowed his sympathy with a downtrodden
people, and his determination to help them gain their freedom, the
Ambassador acted quickly. At his request, the rash young enthusiast was
arrested by the French Government, and orders were given to seize his ship,
which was awaiting him at Bordeaux. But ship and owner both slipped away,
and sailing from the port of Pasajes in Spain, the runaway, with eleven
chosen companions, was soon on the sea, bound for America, and beyond the
reach of both friends and foes.

On April 25, 1777, he landed at the little port of Georgetown, at the mouth
of the Great Pee Dee river in South Carolina; and from that day forward the
career of Marie Jean Paul Roch Yves Gilbert Motier, Marquis de La Fayette,
has held a place in the history of America, and in the interest and
affection of the American people.

When he first arrived in the land for which he desired to fight, however,
he found but a cool reception. The Congress of the United States was poor,
and so many good and brave American officers who had proved their worth
were desirous of commissions as major-generals, that the commission
promised to this young Frenchman could not easily be put in force so far as
an actual command and a salary were concerned.

But the young general had come across the sea for a purpose, and money and
position were not parts of that purpose. He expressed his desire to serve
in the American army upon two very singular conditions, namely: that he
should receive no pay, and that he should act as a volunteer. The Congress
was so impressed with the enthusiasm and self-sacrifice of the young
Frenchman that, on July 31, 1777, it passed a resolution directing that
"his services be accepted and that, in consideration of his zeal,
illustrious family and connections, he have the rank and commission of a
Major-General of the United States."

General Washington was greatly attracted by the energy and earnestness of
the young nobleman. He took him into what was called his "military family,"
assigned him to special and honorable duty; and when the young volunteer
was wounded at the battle of Brandywine, the Commander-in-Chief praised his
"bravery and military ardor" so highly that the Congress gave La Fayette
the command of a division. Thus, before he was twenty, he was actually a
general, and already, as one historian says, he had "justified the boyish
rashness which his friends deplored and his sovereign resented, and had
acquired a place in history."

Notwithstanding General Washington's assertion to Congress that La Fayette
had made "great proficiency in our language," the young marquis's
pronunciation of English was far from perfect. French, Spanish, and Italian
were all familiar to him, but his English was not readily understood by the
men he was called upon to command. It was therefore necessary to find as
his aid-de-camp one who could quickly interpret the orders of his
commanding officer.

[Illustration: STATUE OF LA FAYETTE BY A. BARTHOLDI,--
UNION SQUARE, NEW-YORK CITY.]

Such an aid was at last found in the person of a certain young Connecticut
adjutant on the regimental staff of dashing Brigadier-General Wayne,--"Mad
Anthony" Wayne, the hero of Stony Point.

This young adjutant was of almost the same age as Lafayette; he had
received, what was rare enough in those old days, an excellent college
education, and he was said to be the only man in the American army who
could speak French and English equally well.

These young men, General La Fayette and his aid, grew very fond of each
other during an intimate acquaintance of nearly seven years.